Lazard Asset Management LLC Acquires New Shares in PENN Entertainment, Inc. $PENN

Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in PENN Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:PENN) during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 43,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $658,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Shapiro Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PENN Entertainment by 6.6% during the third quarter. Shapiro Capital Management LLC now owns 6,856,778 shares of the company’s stock valued at $132,062,000 after acquiring an additional 425,190 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of PENN Entertainment by 74.7% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,930,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,697,000 after acquiring an additional 1,679,953 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of PENN Entertainment by 824.3% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,499,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,341,000 after acquiring an additional 3,121,051 shares during the period. Armistice Capital LLC lifted its position in PENN Entertainment by 47.2% in the 4th quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 3,096,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,666,000 after purchasing an additional 992,334 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in PENN Entertainment by 129.5% during the 4th quarter. Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC now owns 1,773,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,158,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000,830 shares during the period. 91.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on PENN shares. Capital One Financial upgraded shares of PENN Entertainment from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $26.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of PENN Entertainment in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on PENN Entertainment from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Barclays raised their target price on PENN Entertainment from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded PENN Entertainment from a “hold” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.78.

Key Headlines Impacting PENN Entertainment

Here are the key news stories impacting PENN Entertainment this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management is targeting more than 20% growth in 2026 adjusted EBITDAR and raised its retail revenue guidance to approximately $5.87 billion, signaling confidence in casino demand and operating performance. PENN targets adjusted EBITDAR growth and raises retail guidance
• Positive Sentiment: The earnings beat and year-over-year improvement suggest broad-based casino demand is supporting improved profitability, helping offset ongoing pressure in the company’s digital operations. PENN tops second-quarter earnings and revenue estimates
• Positive Sentiment: PENN was included in Zacks’ list of Rank #1 “Strong Buy” growth stocks, providing an additional favorable analyst signal, although such rankings are generally less influential than earnings and guidance. Zacks Strong Buy growth stocks list
• Neutral Sentiment: Second-quarter sales were essentially in line with forecasts, indicating that the positive reaction was driven primarily by the earnings beat and raised outlook rather than a major revenue surprise. PENN second-quarter earnings snapshot
• Negative Sentiment: Management expects a potential prediction-market “arms race” this fall and is maintaining its current strategy. Intensifying competition could increase marketing costs and pressure PENN’s online gaming growth. PENN prediction-market competition outlook

PENN Entertainment Stock Up 2.6%

PENN Entertainment stock opened at $20.13 on Friday. PENN Entertainment, Inc. has a 52 week low of $11.65 and a 52 week high of $22.36. The stock has a market cap of $2.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.00, a PEG ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 1.43. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $20.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.94.

PENN Entertainment (NASDAQ:PENN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.07. PENN Entertainment had a negative net margin of 13.55% and a positive return on equity of 0.44%. The company had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.86 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.12) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that PENN Entertainment, Inc. will post 1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About PENN Entertainment

PENN Entertainment, Inc (NASDAQ: PENN) is a leading operator of gaming and racing facilities in the United States. The company’s business activities encompass land-based casinos, pari-mutuel racetracks, off-track wagering, and ancillary amenities such as hotels, restaurants and entertainment venues. In August 2022, the company rebranded from Penn National Gaming to PENN Entertainment to reflect its expanding footprint across digital and traditional segments of the gaming industry.

The company’s portfolio includes well-known properties under the Hollywood Casino and Ameristar Casino brands, located across multiple states including Pennsylvania, Ohio, Missouri and West Virginia.